Philips exits shrinking home entertainment business

Source: Reuters

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Philips Electronics is selling its audio and video business to Japan's Funai Electric Co in a deal that almost completes its exit from consumer electronics to focus on more profitable home appliances and healthcare areas.

For many years, the Dutch company was a familiar household name in Europe thanks to its high-quality goods such as television sets, cassettes and CD players. But it has struggled to compete with lower-cost Asian manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, and has had to cut costs and sell assets over the last two years.

Philips had already hived off its ailing television business by setting up a joint venture with Hong Kong-based TPV last year. Now the sale of its audio and video operations for 150 million euros plus licence fees to Funai Electric takes the rest of the electronics out of the Philips name, apart from a small remote-control business.

With more consumers going online for music, films and games rather than buying CDs and DVDs, Philips decided to get out of home entertainment even though it was profitable last year, Chief Executive Frans van Houten said on Tuesday, adding that the business was shrinking and "margin dilutive".

7. Panasonic plasmas are still have the best quality-to-dollar ratio of any TV on the market.

LED's still can't completely match the quality of a plasma, at double the price (they are very close, but plasmas still beat them on blacks). OLED's actually do offer better quality than the plasmas, but again we're looking at a price point double that of a plasma.

Sure, plasmas use more electricity, and they generate more heat, and they weigh more, but if quality is your goal, they're still at the top of the list.

That's why I'm bummed about the rumors of Panasonic folding their tv division. That will pretty much leave Samsung as the only major manufacturer of plasmas, and they're not exactly wedded to the technology.